Our Story

Yamadaya Shokuryo Co Ltd. (formerly called "Yamadaya Rice Shop"), was founded in 1965. We are located in Asahi-ku, Yokohama-shi-cho.

For almost 5 decades, we dedicated our business to providing the highest quality products to our customers, as well as providing consultation and training classes on rice and food produce.

Nature of the business include the production, export and retail of premium japanica rice, whole grains, millet, and sake products.

​Our nature of the business include the production, export and retail of premium japanica rice, whole grains, millet, and sake products. Having mastered cultivation process, Yamadaya Rice Company is the number one exporter of premium Japanese rice grains to Singapore.

Our Leadership

CEO - Hiroto Mochida - 持田広人

Hiroto Mochida is the CEO of YAMADAYA Shokuryo Co Ltd. He was born in 1967 and holds a Bachelor of Faculty of Business Administration from HOSEI University. He started his career working for Kanagawa Honda Cars Sales Company as a sales person, and then joined YAMADAYA Shokuryo Co Ltd.

In 2004, he became CEO of YAMADAYA Shokuryo Co Ltd. In 2005, the Japan Rice Retailers Association certified him as a top rank 5-Star Rice Master. He keeps a close relationship with excellent rice producers all over Japan. Their rice, which is produced with the utmost care, is like precious rice diamond. We know a lot of unknown producers who have brilliant skills. Hiroto goes to rice fields himself and carefully selects satisfactory rice. We are confident of the quality we deliver! We treat our rice as if it were our own child.

As a certified 5-Star Rice Master, Hiroto Mochida has been on the jury at several rice contests. his presence in media includes newspaper, magazine, radio and TV.

He was selected as a jury for :

-"Rice Cooker Ranking" held by Nikkei Inc,

- “Best Rice Contest” held by Shizuoka prefectural government

- “Rice Tasting Contest” held by Kijimadaira Nagano

- “Rice Tasting Contest - World Cup” held by Kijimadaira Nagano.

Satomi Mochida - 持田怜美

Satomi Mochida is a certified Expert Millet instructor with the Japan Millet Association. Married to Hiroto, Satomi dedicated the last 20 years to the teaching of the rich history and uniqueness of Japanese cuisine. She is also a certified macrobiotic instructor, Dietary education designer, Rice Meister and rice flour Meister.

She conducts workshops and classes for companies, health groups and school children, across Japan, where her students learn about the history of common Japanese dishes, exotic Japanese vegetables, rules regarding the preparation of Japanese food, customs, and much more.

Satomi writes her own blog and has been regularly featured in various TV shows, media and magazines in Japan.

Our Vision

Establishing of Yamadaya International - 2013

At YAMADAYA, we are dedicated to the contribution of improving the health of our customers. For the past years, we have been educating our customers about rice. This experience has deepened our own understanding as we realize that ricefields have a biological diversity.

If rice fields decrease in number, environmental issues will increase. In order to conserve the rice fields as well as contributing to help solve world-wide food crisis, Yamadaya is working with local farmers to export premium quality rice.

Currently, approximately 30% of the rice fields in Japan are not allowed to be cultivated because of the rice acreage reduction policy. If these rice fields are re-used for other crops, it wouldn’t matter. However, if these rice fields are left in poor conditions and abandoned because villagers grow old or leave the village, it would be hard to cultivate them once more and may even become irrepairable.

(The rice acreage reduction policy is in effect as it is for adjusting national demand and maintaining the price stability.)

However, cultivating rice for export is allowed as long as it doesn’t affect the national demand. Our vision is provide a new channel for the farmers in Japan through YAMADAYA International. We hope to protect the biodiversity and carry on the regional cultures and customs by planting and selling rice which have been produced in the rice fields under the rice acreage reduction policy. If you purchase our “environmental preservation rice”, the rice producers will feel hopeful about the future and it will also develop the next generation of agriculture workers.